“A collection of profound and epic album reviews and musical articles by former astronaut and brain surgeon, Alasdair Kennedy. Reaching levels of poetry that rival Keats and Blake, the following reviews affirm Alasdair to be a prodigy, a genius and a god whose opinion is always objectively right. He is also without a doubt the most modest man in the universe.” - Alasdair Kennedy

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Wednesday, 5 November 2014

BEST AND WORST NEW TRACKS OF THE WEEK 05/11/2014: Jam Baxter, Labrinth, Taylor Swift and more...

It's weekly round-up time again where I single out the singles that made the best and worst impression on me. I hope you all had a happy Halloween/Guy Fawkes Night/Diwali/belated-Easter.

THE BEST

'Leash' - Jam Baxter

British underground hip hop artist, Jam Baxter, pulls out some of
his most cryptic lyrics yet accompanied by a slithering gloomy beat. The video
that comes with it is strange to say the least. Baxter describes it best on
Twitter, ‘here is my new video where
there are bare flies in my ear’.

'Blank
Space' - Taylor Swift

Ha!

TAYLOR SWIFT??? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Look, I’m sorry, this
girl’s new pop stuff isn’t half bad. She’s just got so much bounce in her vocal
delivery these days. It makes me want to get a hairbrush out and sing along. I
wish I could let you hear the track for yourself, but Swift seems to be on an
anti-stream campaign right now (some of you may have heard she’s forced Spotify
to take down all her music), so consequently there’s no audio widget above, just
a blank space.

'Jealous' - Labrinth

I’ve been going full out mainstream this week with my
choices. Labrinth, the dude who sung ‘Earthquake’, has been proving lately that
he’s more than just your average Joe when it comes r&b. Written from the perspective of a jealous ex, this powerful ballad actually raised goosebumps on
me. Be patient with it. Trust me, the build-up’s worth it.

'L1' -

Beacon

Brooklyn duo, Beacon, have pulled out this ethereal electro-pop number. It’s smooth and cold as ice. I’m not sure what the ‘L1’ stands for. Take your pick.